I am going to return to analysing 3 thriller short films, because unlike the action genre thrillers are often considerably different and so I expect to find a lot of variation.
Knowing Too Much
The first of my selected thrillers is an amateur, low-budget film, and reminds me a lot of the product me and my friend made at GCSE level. The narrative takes place at night, where a young man is walking outside in a brisk, nervous manner. He is on the phone and holding some documents, which are implied to be incriminating evidence. While on the phone the character keeps looking behind him, suggesting that the documents are important and hold dangerous content in the wrong hands. He spots an official looking man tailing him and starts to run. The chase ends in a multi-storey car park when the character reaches his car. There is no sign of the pursuer, so he picks up the phone again to continue his conversation. While doing this the smartly-dressed man emerges from the staircase, adjusting his jacket and striding casually towards the protagonist. The protagonist remains unaware of the incoming threat, and the antagonist gets close enough to slam the man's head into the car and knock him unconscious. The antagonist takes the documents from the floor and walks off. His phone rings, and he confirms to his employer that he has dealt with the problem.
Dialogue
There is very little dialogue and I feel as though there didn't really need to be any. It doesn't particularly harm the short film but even without it the premise was successfully conveyed through the props and the body language of the characters. The dialogue that is included tends to confirm the viewer's interpretation of the events; so the final line 'yeah, I took care of it' establishes that the antagonist was working for someone who needed to acquire the documents before they could be used against him. Therefore I would say that the dialogue didn't aid any character development but established the narrative more firmly.
Camera Shots/Angles
- Long Shots: The purpose of long shots here is to emphasise the desolation of the protagonist and to build suspense through how we can't tell where the man will come from. However more so than this I think that the long shots demonstrate the emotional detachment of the pursuer. We never see a close up of him and so it adds to the harrowing loneliness and lack of empathy conveyed.
- Tracking Shot: Initially I would say that the tracking shots add to the pacing, and because we are normally following the protagonist from behind I think that this resembles the imminence of the pursuer, always close. The dynamic movement of the camera is synchronous with the film, because the protagonist always has to keep moving in order to stay ahead. So when the protagonist stops by his car and the camera stops tracking, it foreshadows how this gives the pursuer time to catch up. However the final tracking shot of the pursuer has a different effect. It evokes the idea that he is getting away, almost insignificantly. Before when we tracked the protagonist from behind there was a sense of pursuit, here its as if both the protagonist and the viewer are being left behind by the antagonist.
- Zoom: The camera zooms in because it symbolises the antagonist closing in. At first we zoom in on the staircase at the end of the car park to try and spot the antagonist, and then secondly we zoom in on the protagonist from behind, which is supposed to mirror the movement of the pursuer getting nearer.
- Close Up: With the close up of the protagonist on the phone, the filmmakers hope to achieve the effect of claustrophobia. Even though the setting is openly vast, focusing on the character's face effectively depicts his personal worry as well as the impending consequences. It presents him as trapped and surrounded.
- Shaky Cam: The shaky camera motion complements the film very nicely. It almost mimics the sense of panic and carelessness of the protagonist, like when he fumbles and drops his car keys. With the camera in a constant state of movement the viewer is never able to fully focus on the action, which is successful in creating suspense. It leaves us with the impression of exposure, that there isn't time to stop and capture the subject with clarity, contributing to the build up of uncertainty.
Editing
Although I would say it is more relevant to the camera shots, I think that by employing a hand held camera movement the editing comes across as rushed and unfocused, which plays to their advantage. The fast-cutting of the chase scene is complemented by the shaky cam technique, because it comes across as frantic and spontaneous rather than rehearsed, which is more immersive for the viewer. The editor uses match cuts as well so that although the visual style seems distorted, the action on screen is in fact continuous. One thing I'd like to point out is how the scenes have been cut together to shroud the visual details of the pursuer. We never see the antagonist up close or in detail and this omission helps to dehumanise his character and establish him as heartless.
Diegetic/ Non-Diegetic Sound
I love how the emptiness of a location like the car park helps to enhance the diegetic noises. For example the gunshots, footsteps and phone ringing at the end all have an eerie effect through how they vibrate across the setting, aiding the atmosphere. It reminds me of Michael Mann's shootout in Heat and the alley shooting in Collateral, which both use sound in a way that this short film successfully recreates. I also like the way that the dialogue is muffled and almost incomprehensible, because it makes the action seem out of reach and keeps the audience at a distance, refusing to reveal everything to us. This is closely related to the use of dialogue; although it is evident, we infer that we don't need to be able to understand it in order to understand the narrative. The non-diegetic soundtrack complements the action with thoughtful precision. You'll notice that as the protagonist starts running the soundtrack suddenly becomes fast-paced, and as the antagonist walks towards the man while he's on the phone the score builds up a suspenseful anticipation. This suggests that the soundtrack had already been selected before the production of the short film, and the action was edited together to correspond cohesively with the score. The end sequence of The Lone Ranger 2013 was similarly choreographed to match the pacing of the original William Tell Overture. I thoroughly like the use of sound in this short film.
Mise-en-Scene
Clothing is important again here. The casual outfit and backpack of the protagonist are suggestive of someone with a normal life, while the black suit of the pursuer conveys a sense of professionalism, an attire associated with wealth and control. Displaying the folder complements this because it relies on quite an archetypal plot of how an innocent civilian proves to be a threat to a powerful organisation, and so we instantly assume the folder contains incriminating evidence based on this pre-conceived and often conventional storyline. To an extent this links to John Fiske's genre theory about how we relate events to things we have already seen. I instantly associated this short film with the TV shows Damages and Person of Interest, which have used similar plot elements.
I would also say that the emptiness of the car park successfully expresses the isolation of the protagonist. There are no cars and no one else around which establishes that he is on his own against this threat. The overhead lights further contribute to the eerie atmosphere because even though the protagonist has run from the darkness outside to a place that is illuminated, this still doesn't prevent him from being able to detect the antagonist's presence.
Review
For a low-budget first attempt, I would say that the filmmakers have made some very smart decisions and not been too ambitious, and instead they have tried to do the best they can with an already familiar concept. The lack of lighting equipment, the handheld camera and the sound are reminiscent of techniques used by Michael Mann, preferring to use the less is more approach to make the film seem gritty and realistic. My only complaint is regarding the soundtrack, and although I like how it matches the action on screen, I think that the volume is too overwhelming and would have been better with a more subtle beat. However overall I really like the attempt, it is lacking originality but demonstrates a clear understanding of technical features.
Diegetic/ Non-Diegetic Sound
I love how the emptiness of a location like the car park helps to enhance the diegetic noises. For example the gunshots, footsteps and phone ringing at the end all have an eerie effect through how they vibrate across the setting, aiding the atmosphere. It reminds me of Michael Mann's shootout in Heat and the alley shooting in Collateral, which both use sound in a way that this short film successfully recreates. I also like the way that the dialogue is muffled and almost incomprehensible, because it makes the action seem out of reach and keeps the audience at a distance, refusing to reveal everything to us. This is closely related to the use of dialogue; although it is evident, we infer that we don't need to be able to understand it in order to understand the narrative. The non-diegetic soundtrack complements the action with thoughtful precision. You'll notice that as the protagonist starts running the soundtrack suddenly becomes fast-paced, and as the antagonist walks towards the man while he's on the phone the score builds up a suspenseful anticipation. This suggests that the soundtrack had already been selected before the production of the short film, and the action was edited together to correspond cohesively with the score. The end sequence of The Lone Ranger 2013 was similarly choreographed to match the pacing of the original William Tell Overture. I thoroughly like the use of sound in this short film.
Mise-en-Scene
Clothing is important again here. The casual outfit and backpack of the protagonist are suggestive of someone with a normal life, while the black suit of the pursuer conveys a sense of professionalism, an attire associated with wealth and control. Displaying the folder complements this because it relies on quite an archetypal plot of how an innocent civilian proves to be a threat to a powerful organisation, and so we instantly assume the folder contains incriminating evidence based on this pre-conceived and often conventional storyline. To an extent this links to John Fiske's genre theory about how we relate events to things we have already seen. I instantly associated this short film with the TV shows Damages and Person of Interest, which have used similar plot elements.
I would also say that the emptiness of the car park successfully expresses the isolation of the protagonist. There are no cars and no one else around which establishes that he is on his own against this threat. The overhead lights further contribute to the eerie atmosphere because even though the protagonist has run from the darkness outside to a place that is illuminated, this still doesn't prevent him from being able to detect the antagonist's presence.
Review
For a low-budget first attempt, I would say that the filmmakers have made some very smart decisions and not been too ambitious, and instead they have tried to do the best they can with an already familiar concept. The lack of lighting equipment, the handheld camera and the sound are reminiscent of techniques used by Michael Mann, preferring to use the less is more approach to make the film seem gritty and realistic. My only complaint is regarding the soundtrack, and although I like how it matches the action on screen, I think that the volume is too overwhelming and would have been better with a more subtle beat. However overall I really like the attempt, it is lacking originality but demonstrates a clear understanding of technical features.
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